US EditionHe was killed in a road rage shooting. AI allowed him to deliver his own victim impact statement
- Gabriel Horcasitas was sentenced to about 10.5 years in prison in 2025 for manslaughter in the 2021 Chandler road rage shooting that killed Christopher Pelkey.
- The shooting stemmed from an altercation on Gilbert Road where Pelkey confronted Horcasitas after a road rage incident led to multiple shots fired.
- During the sentencing, Pelkey's family utilized artificial intelligence to generate a digital likeness of him that spoke his victim impact statement, marking a first in Arizona's court system.
- The AI representation of Pelkey expressed to Horcasitas that under different circumstances they might have developed a friendship, a statement that deeply affected the judge during his closing remarks.
- This case highlights AI's emerging role in justice, prompting formation of an AI committee to examine its use and balance potential efficiencies with risks.
69 Articles
69 Articles
Should a Killer's Victim Be Able to "Speak" at a Sentencing Through AI?
Last week, the road-rage killer of an Arizona man was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison after his victim "spoke" to the court via a victim impact statement (VIS) created through artificial intelligence. The trial court judge allowed the victim's family to play an AI-generated video with a version of the victim—including his face and body and a lifelike voice—which appeared to ask the judge for leniency. The family has posted the statement here…
"I forgive you": in the United States, a victim resurrected by the AI addresses his murderer in a court of law
Three years after being killed in a road altercation in Arizona, Chris Pelkey spoke in court with a reconstructed version of himself, a first that questions the ethical limits of this technology.
Died in a shooting in Arizona, a man returns to testify at his executioner's trial... thanks to the AI
It was the victim's family members who used artificial intelligence to allow Chris Pelkey to use his own words, and to go back to the incident that cost him his life three years earlier.
Associated Press News
He was killed in a road rage shooting. AI allowed him to deliver his own victim impact statement
Family and friends of Christopher Pelkey submitted dozens of statements to the court before a man convicted of shooting him during a road rage incident was sentenced.
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